Prepare to finish your race in faith.

 

Sermon for the 3^rd Last Sunday, November 8, 2026

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  Amen.

2 Timothy 4:1-8, 16-18  I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom: ²Preach the word.  Be ready whether it is convenient or not.  Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching.  ³For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  ⁴They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  ⁵As for you, keep a clear head in every situation.  Bear hardship.  Do the work of an evangelist.  Fulfill your ministry.  ⁶You see, I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  ⁷I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  ⁸From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.  The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing. … ¹⁶At my first hearing, no one came to my defense, but everyone deserted me.  May it not be counted against them.  ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles would hear it, and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.  ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.  To him be the glory forever and ever.  Amen. (EHV)

Prepare to finish your race in faith.

Dear friends in Christ,

            As we near the end of our year-long review of the catechism, we consider the 7^th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “But deliver us from evil.”  We skipped over it earlier in the year, but as we approach the end of the Church year, and in view of our end on earth, Luther’s explanation is a fitting addition.  He wrote: “We pray in this petition, as the sum of all, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil of body and soul, property and honor; and at last, when the hour of death shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.”

In our sermon text, we find Paul in prison fully prepared for the end of his life which he was now convinced was imminent.  In his previous letters from prison, Paul had confidence that he would be set free to continue his work of proclaiming the Gospel of our Savior.  This time, however, the reality of his new imprisonment was clear: Paul’s race in this life was about to reach its conclusion with his execution for the sake of the Gospel.  The encouragement the Holy Spirit sends to us through Paul’s hand is to Prepare to finish your race in faith.

The situation was clear as Paul wrote this letter to Timothy; the end of his time on earth was very near.  Execution was imminent for Paul wrote, “I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”  Certainly, Paul was no stranger to danger and persecution.  He had survived many an attack from multiple sides for much of his Christian life and had already endured arrests and multiple abuses for the sake of Jesus Christ, so someone might guess that Paul had reason to be afraid or perhaps was somehow despairing as he wrote to Timothy.  Yet, Paul remained confident of his future for he wrote, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.”

Paul also understood that the world in which his fellow believers would be dwelling was not likely to provide comfort and ease for his fellow Christian believers.  Likewise, as we look back throughout history, we see that this world is always strongly opposed to the salvation offered through faith in Jesus.  We can blame the devil, of course, who is always seeking to devour those who would follow Jesus.  Yet, we also know our own sinful flesh is complicit in following the ways of the world.  Temptations abound for any of us, and the more firmly we imagine that we might resist them on our own, the more likely we will fail.

If the devil and this world were willing to attack Jesus’ hand-picked apostle, and even Jesus Himself, we certainly should expect that the old evil foe will just as ruthlessly come after us.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit was sending Timothy out into the battle to continue providing the resources you and I need to Prepare to finish your race in faith.

The race of a Christian through life is a complicated and dangerous journey.  False doctrines come at us from every side.  Evil forces and evil people try continually to trip us on our way.  Sinful flesh makes us want to rule our own ways or chose our own paths.  Therefore, even in resisting temptation, we find ourselves guilty, for the very consideration of sinning against God’s will shows the depths of our corruption.  Consequently, every moment of our race is a battle fraught with danger.  To endure unto the end, we are forced to struggle with planning, preparation, commitment, and training.  Any misstep along the way might jeopardize our race.

To Timothy and other pastors and teachers, Paul wrote, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word.  Be ready whether it is convenient or not.  Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching.”  Now, as I tell you this was written to pastors and teachers, understand that it doesn’t leave you off the hook.  We are each in this world to teach by example, to be lights in the darkness for those who surround us.  This is especially the case in our dealings with the young.  Children watch everything around them.  They study their parents, both the actions and the attitudes.  Thus, every moment of our lives may help or distract others in their race.

Since that is the case, the next statement is especially troublesome.  In the world we live in, it is astonishingly clear that Paul was shown the future, and he saw how diligent we must be since he wrote, “For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”  Why are there so many denominations in our country even just in the Christians churches?  Because mankind is so often misled by his own thoughts and desires.  From one controversy to the next, there are always people leaving the true faith.  In fact, every denomination would claim the true faith, but so very many have strayed from the fulness and truth of God’s Word!  Also, it is very evident in our world that many now prefer deceptions over truth.  Regardless, we must hold to the truths of God’s Word handed down to us from generation to generation.

Thus, the necessity to prepare.  The Holy Spirit says, “As for you, keep a clear head in every situation.  Bear hardship.  Do the work of an evangelist.  Fulfill your ministry.”  That doesn’t make us all pastors or teachers, but it does motivate us to be in the Word God has provided so we are not misled by those who want to put their own desires and ideas over what the Bible clearly says. 

Through Paul, God is also encouraging His people to endure, to bear up under the troubles and persecutions that will surely come against us.  So that we may prepare to remain faithful in the race of our lives, God has provided His holy Word, pastors, teachers, church services in which we repent of our sins and receive forgiveness full and free.  Jesus provides His very body and blood in the bread and wine of His Supper to restore in us, again and again, the righteousness He lived for us.

No Olympic athlete ever won a medal without strict training and effort.  Indeed, even high school students rarely excel without diligent effort or preparation.  Though many in politics like to pretend that material success should be available without effort, it is undeniably true that without effort or training, no one really succeeds.  Without effort, a person might be kept physically alive but never do more than exist uselessly until death.

Now, in spiritual things, of course, we are all beggars.  None of us possess the righteousness to stand before God on our own.  None of us can pay for our ticket to heaven, nor earn passage through its gates.  When Paul had to stand before the courts of the Roman Caesar, no one came to help him.  No lawyer was willing to argue his case.  No friend was willing or able to stand with Paul and defend him.  Consequently, the sentence was soon given that his life must end, probably by beheading with a sword.

If we had to stand before the eternal Judge on our own, we too would face a sentence of death, but it wouldn’t just be a beheading, and I don’t mean to make light of Paul’s death sentence.  Execution is a horrible way to reach the end of one’s race.  However, to fall out of the race through lack of preparation, or to reach the end of our physical lives without Jesus advocating for us, ends our life in the kingdom of heaven.  If Jesus does not speak for us, we have no hope and no place in His everlasting kingdom of peace.  Therefore, the admonition to Prepare to finish your race in faith.

So, where did Paul find his confidence as he faced the executioner’s sword?  Not in his own efforts!  Rather, Paul held fast to the Savior who had grasped Paul in his sinful state and lifted him into the kingdom of grace.  Paul rejoiced to tell Timothy, “The Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles would hear it, and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” 

Paul compared his rescue to that of Daniel in the lion’s den.  The Roman authorities and others who opposed Jesus probably were glad to get rid of this apostle they considered a troublemaker.  Yet, through the trial Paul had to endure, he was able to proclaim the Gospel of Christ Jesus even to those who didn’t yet believe and perhaps never would.  Still, the end for Paul was not death but a restful sleep, for Paul would die connected with Jesus who lives forever.  Furthermore, with Jesus as his Advocate in the courts of heaven, Paul was already declared innocent by faith and consequently welcome in the eternal realms of heaven—just  like you and me.

Dear friends, through the faith you were given at your baptism and which you have strengthened throughout life with the hearing of the Word in our worship services, your Bible reading and study, and by the hope you were given when hearing what Jesus has done for you, we now stand ready to say along with Paul, “From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.  The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing.”  This is what true Christian faith is all about.  It includes repentance of our sins.  It includes our efforts to serve our neighbor and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to all we can reach, but ultimately, it is what Jesus has done for us, and His continuing intervention on our behalf at His Father’s side that makes all the difference in our race.

Therefore, hold on to the promises of your Savior.  Prepare for the battles of life by arming yourself with the truths of Christ’s love.  Never for a moment forget that God will never forget you.  Then follow Paul’s example to fight the good fight, just as he encouraged the congregation at Ephesus:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals.  At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.  Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17)

In all things and every day, cling to Jesus; Prepare to finish your race in faith.  Amen.

Now to him who is able to strengthen you—according to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The Lamb of God leads us in peace and joy everlasting.

 

Sermon for All Saints’, November 1, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Revelation 7:13-17  ¹³One of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?”  ¹⁴And I answered him, “Sir, you know.”  And he said to me: “These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  ¹⁵Because of this they are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple.  He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  ¹⁶They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.  The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, ¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (EHV)

The Lamb of God leads us in peace and joy everlasting.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Our epistle lessons this morning were given to the apostle, John, in the Revelation after he received the vision of the seven seals being opened.  Our sermon time does not allow us to examine the events pictured in that vision, but understand that the seven seals portray the victorious Christ and all the trials of the end times in this world that Jesus foretold would follow His victory over sin and death.  Here, John is shown the result for those believers God has brought to faith in Jesus throughout their time of tribulation in this troubled world.

As the vast multitude of all believers in heaven was shown to John, he reports, “One of the elders spoke to me and said, ‘These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?’  And I answered him, ‘Sir, you know.’”  John treats the question as rhetorical.  He was confident that the elder already had the answer, just as Jesus had taught John the truth.  The “where did they come from” is easy.  The only possible conclusion is that these are people from earth—people who had no right or claim to a place in heaven on their own merit. 

John knew, just as we all have been taught, that there is no one righteous on his own.  Every part and portion of our body and soul is corrupted by sin, as the Holy Spirit moved the psalmist to write and repeated through St. Paul, “The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.  Every one has turned away.  Altogether they have become rotten.  There is no one who does good.  There is not even one.” (Psalm 14:2-3)

That still leaves wide open the question, “Who are they?”  Could it be everyone who has ever lived?  No, absolutely not, for apart from faith in Jesus, no one can enter heaven.  Jesus made that clear when He declared, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)  Could it be those who did enough good works, since James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26)  Please note, however, that James also wrote, “Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point has become guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10)  Consequently, though James was encouraging believers to do the good works God has given us to do, good works alone cannot save anyone.  However, the service and sacrifice of the Lamb of God has accomplished everything needed to save sinners such as you and me.  So again, we ask, “Who are they?” 

The elder answered his own question so that you and I would have sure hope and confidence in what Jesus has done for us and the Holy Spirit has brought us to believe.  He said, “These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  They are people washed clean in the blood of Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, who was sacrificed for the sins of the world.  His blood, shed on the cross, has purified all those whom God the Holy Spirit has washed in the water of Baptism and purified by the faith in Jesus that washing flood brings.  The clothing here stands in for the lives of those who believe in Jesus.  Everything you have ever done has been purified through Jesus.  Yours sins are washed away, and the works you do out of faith are considered as pure and as radiant as what Jesus did for you and for all.

For that reason, those people assembled before the throne of God, in the company and presence of God and all the saved souls ever, include our dear friends, family members, and other Christians both ancient, current, and forever who have fallen asleep in Christ.  Do you want to see your beloved fellow believers after Judgment Day?  Every one of those dear people are standing in that crowd. 

There is a place there for you and me as well.  We are promised in the gospel of St. Mark, “Preach the gospel to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:15-16)  St. Paul wrote concerning Christians, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)  In baptism, you were cleansed of all sin so that you, through faith in Christ Jesus, are fit for heaven.  In baptism, God claimed you as His own dear child.  In fact, Paul’s assurance to the Christians in Galatia is affirmed in this vision given to John, for Paul wrote, “In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27)

Never take the blessings of Baptism for granted.  Those who are baptized and believe in Jesus are the people pictured in this vision.  Why should this be a big deal for us on a day we remember and celebrate those who have gone on to heaven before us?  It’s a big deal both now and forever, because believers who are called out of this world through the portal of death are enjoying forevermore what John saw.  “They are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple.  He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.”  To spread His tent over them means they have been accepted into God’s family and His loving care forevermore.  They stand before God, not trembling in fear at His perfect holiness, but dressed in the righteousness Jesus lived for them and for us.  His holiness has removed all fear of death or condemnation.   

The vision shown to John that day confirms the prophecies God gave through David in the Psalms.  Psalm 121 promised, “The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” (Psalm 121:6)  David’s faith recorded in the 23^rd Psalm, read at every funeral among us, assures, “The Lord is my shepherd.  I lack nothing.  He causes me to lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3)  Our text this morning certifies that every prophecy is now fulfilled; the gates of heaven are open for all who will believe in Jesus, and everlasting peace is available right now to those God calls home, and the same will be ours forever, even after time and this world cease to exist.

“They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.  The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The ancient prophet Isaiah wrote, “Why do you spend money on something that is not bread?  Why do you waste your labor on something that does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good.  Satisfy your appetite with rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2)  When the Jews were refusing to believe what He taught, Jesus told them, “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.  The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:50-51)  In the mindset of the world, this is incomprehensible.  How could eating Jesus’ flesh give life?  But Jesus was talking about the flesh of His Word and the actions He was taking to give us life that will not end.  We remember also, that Jesus is not just human but the Son of God the Father as well.

Obviously, this world is full of trouble.  Every day brings new sorrows, more temptations to follow other gods, and more accusations against us from people who do not know Jesus or the Father.  However, our comfort and assurance remains ever this, that Jesus knows those of us who believe in Him as our Savior and Redeemer.  Not only that, but because we are now covered by Jesus and His righteousness, the Father in heaven claims us as His own dearly loved children, and like the father of the prodigal son, God the Father is looking forward to our return home in eager expectation.  In fact, Paul tells us, “Creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed.  For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19-21)

Dear friends, Jesus once told His disciples, “In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  There is never a day in this life that can compare to what we have waiting for us in heaven.  Here, we have sorrow and pain.  Here, the devil and the world continue to try to deceive and accuse us.  Here, there is a continual struggle to maintain even our physical lives as we eat our food by the sweat of our brow with burdensome toil.  However, for those God calls home to His side in the mansions of heaven, all of this conflict, stress, sorrow, and troublesome labor are behind them forever, because for all eternity to come, The Lamb of God leads us in peace and joy everlasting.  Amen.

The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.  Amen.

The Lord sanctifies work for those He redeems.

 

Sermon for Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2026

Peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:15-23  ¹⁵The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.  ¹⁶The Lord God gave a command to the man.  He said, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, ¹⁷but you shall not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die.” … ^3:15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.  ¹⁶To the woman he said: I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing.  With painful labor you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you.  ¹⁷To Adam he said: Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You shall not eat from it,” the soil is cursed on account of you.  You will eat from it with painful labor all the days of your life.  ¹⁸Thorns and thistles will spring up from the ground for you, but you will eat the crops of the field.  ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the soil, for out of it you were taken.  For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  ²⁰The man named his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.  ²¹The Lord God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.  ²²The Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  Now, so that he does not reach out his hand and also take from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever—” ²³the Lord God sent him out from the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which he had been taken. (EHV)

The Lord sanctifies work for those He redeems.

Dear redeemed of the Lord,

            When Martin Luther wrote the Small Catechism, he included a table of duties which we have considered over the last several weeks.  He outlined the duties we owe to each other in our families, communities, and church.  Essentially, all of these duties, or we might say vocations, are means in which the Lord blesses us all through the work and services we perform. 

Now, as you might imagine, work isn’t always considered a good thing.  Many times in our lives, we feel some resentment because of the demands of our vocations.  After sin entered our world, what had been a pleasant assignment from God was no longer appreciated.  For that reason, this morning, we examine work, recognizing that The Lord sanctifies work for those He redeems.

The first portion of our text takes us to the day God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden.  Adam was put there with the task of being the caretaker of the Garden.  The verb means to watch over and protect what was under his care.  In that Garden, Adam was free to eat of any tree.  Imagine an orchard with every possible fruit and nut available on the planet from which Adam was free to eat just by reaching out his hand and plucking his supper from the branch.  Needless to say, his labor was very easy.  Still, he could use all his skill and talent in pleasant occupation as he cared for the creation surrounding him. 

The only restriction placed upon Adam was that he was not allowed to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  This was by no means a burdensome restriction, but instead a place where Adam could honor God’s will for his life.  There was nothing about the fruit of that tree that was superior to any other fruit of the Garden, and Adam was at peace.

The second portion of our text takes us to the day Adam and Eve were enticed by the devil’s deceit to transfer their trust in the Lord to the serpent.  You know the story well, I am sure.  Satan tricked Eve into imagining that God was withholding something desirable from her and her husband.  Then, since the fruit looked as pleasant and tasty as any other fruit in the Garden, Eve lusted after its supposed benefit of the knowledge of evil.  Adam, who was with her, failed his wife by not interfering with the devil’s lie, so they both ate, and both were poisoned by sin and the desire for evil.

This is where we enter the scene today.  As you would readily expect, actions have consequences.  God’s initial command to Adam not to eat had included the warning that to eat of the fruit of that one tree meant certain death.  Thus, both Adam and his wife would now face death.  Yet, to the surprise of many, God didn’t immediately strike that first couple down dead.  Certainly, He could have, but in His mercy, God brought a remedy to their sin-broken condition.  Thus, we read God’s condemning statement to the serpent: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” 

For his deceptive ways, Satan would be conquered completely and eventually banished to eternal torment.  From the woman, a descendant would be born who would destroy the devil’s power.  How or when was left unspoken for the moment, but the promise was there that God would provide a Redeemer for mankind.  We know this to be the first promise of God sending His Son, born of a woman, to redeem and save all who would believe in Him.

But now what?  What would be the circumstances for the world until that Redeemer came?  Or we might say, until the end of this corrupted world?  That’s where we see the consequences of sin come into play.  Everything about life in this world has changed.  “To the woman he said: I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing.  With painful labor you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you.”  Some would call this punishment for allowing herself to be deceived.  Some say it is God chastening women for Eve’s sin.  I think it best just to call it a consequence of turning against God.  Rather than a punishment, it is more simply discipline that causes one to seek the Lord and return to His kindness again. 

But never for one moment doubt that this was a change.  It appears that prior to the fall into sin, giving birth to children would have been easy and pain free.  Raising children in a holy state would have been a breeze with neither child nor parent ever being guilty of sin.  Instead, for the rest of time, everything connected with bringing children into the world is filled with difficulty and pain.  Furthermore, the roles of men and women became conflicted because of the sin that now infects each of us.

To Adam he said: Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You shall not eat from it,” the soil is cursed on account of you.  You will eat from it with painful labor all the days of your life.  Thorns and thistles will spring up from the ground for you, but you will eat the crops of the field.  By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the soil, for out of it you were taken. 

Adam certainly didn’t skate free from consequence.  The work that once had been pleasurable and easy would forever after be difficult and full of trouble and pain.  Instead of just picking fruit off the trees year-round whenever you needed a bite to eat, now you eat only after you do the planting, cultivating, harvest, and storage, or someone does it on your behalf.  Regardless, every form of toil, every vocation known to man is now burdened by the curse of sin.  As Paul noted, “All of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:22)  Therefore, every aspect of our toil and labor is beset with conflict, disagreements, struggle, and every job seems harder than one would wish.  Even when we find the perfect job for ourselves, distresses haunt us daily.

So, why do I tell you all this and what does it mean for our vocations today?  As I said, The Lord sanctifies work for those He redeems.  When God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden, He didn’t toss them on the dung heap of history.  In fact, He reestablished Adam in his work.  It would no longer be as pleasant and easy as in the Garden of Eden, yet his authority over the land continued.  Furthermore, Adam and all people following would eat from the labor of their hands, and through that work God provides for all people. 

With the promise of a Savior believed, Adam was now returned into fellowship with the Lord, and as a believer in the promised Messiah, his works are counted as good before the Lord.  Indeed, the apostle Paul wrote, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)  Therefore, because of Jesus and what He has done for us by His life and sacrifice on the cross, and because the Holy Spirit has connected us to Christ through faith, the work we do is also made holy before the Lord, as long as it is done out of faith in Christ and in accord with God’s commands.

Through the sacrifice of His Son, God has redeemed mankind from sin, death, and the devil’s control.  In our text, this is foreshadowed by the first shedding of blood to cover their shame.  “The Lord God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.”  God sacrificed the lives of animals so that Adam and Eve could live without continual shame.  It was a reminder that their sins would be covered by the sacrifice of a much greater Lamb, God’s own begotten Son.

Though Adam and Eve had turned against God when they listened to Satan’s deceptions, God did not abandon them.  Indeed, He continued to care for them and even preserved them from destruction.  The Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  Now, so that he does not reach out his hand and also take from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever—” the Lord God sent him out from the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which he had been taken.  If Adam had foolishly eaten from the Tree of Life after falling into rebellion, he would have been forever banished to the devil’s lair.  He would never have been able to escape the torments of a cruel world corrupted by sin and its curse.  Therefore, God forced the man and woman out of the Garden and away from any chance that could happen. 

God was protecting them as well as us, and in doing so, God gave them work to do, each with his or her own talents, abilities, and vocations.  The variations continue still today.  Regardless, the work God gives us remains pleasing to Him when we serve out of faith and trust in our Savior.  When we walk with Jesus by faith, and serve Him with all the talents and abilities He gives us, then no matter how difficult our toil might feel, or how persecuted we might be in a world that hates to labor for others, we are comforted knowing that The Lord sanctifies work for those He redeems.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

 

Sermon for Trinity 21, October 18, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:11-17  ¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.  ¹²Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.  ¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority ¹⁴or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  ¹⁵For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.  ¹⁶Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.  ¹⁷Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king. (EHV)

As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

Dear fellow redeemed

            Aliens!  That word has more than a few negative connotations in our country today.  Truth be told, though, it always has.  Most cultures around the world have had a distrust of the foreigner, the person who looks or acts differently than the native peoples.  Of course, some of that negativity comes from a history of foreign populations invading a country either to spy on them or to conquer as the case may be.  Still, international trade would never have happened without someone foreign coming into a nation, so from an earthly standpoint, it is usually a mixed blessing.

Of course, as we read Peter’s message this morning, we need to understand that his words have nothing to do with politics or protecting our home turf.  Rather, Peter is recognizing that when Jesus made us His disciples, He made us citizens of His heavenly Kingdom which makes us aliens to the world.  We are no longer the same as we were.  No longer do sin and Satan rule over us.  No longer does the devil have a claim to our souls.  Furthermore, because Jesus lived and died for every sinner of every time and place, His Father in heaven “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-5)

Peter wrote, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.”  The people to whom Peter wrote lived in a world that was awash in immorality.  Between the idol worship of the pagan culture, the devaluation of human life, widespread slavery, and the rampant and readily available prostitution, most of the world those early Christians lived in was very unlike the pure life God commands.  So, how was a Christian to live in such a place and how are we to live is a similarly immoral world?  Peter’s words tell us that for Christians in such a place, consider yourselves aliens, then As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

Once again, I must admit that the idea of people as aliens carries a lot of baggage in our times.  The question is why?  Israel had long been taught to respect the alien and sojourner for they had lived as such for four hundred years of slavery in Egypt.  Again, for the very same reason Peter tells us to live as aliens.  The corruption of our sinful nature makes us eager to continue in the immoral ways of the world.  We have a natural attraction to sin which is enhanced when we dwell among the disobedient and rebellious against God.  Satan has a hay day in tempting a sinner to continue to sin, but Christ has delivered us from slavery to sin and death.

You see, everything changed when the Lord purchased our souls from the devil’s control.  Our allegiance therefore must change.  In our new citizenship, we need to realize that we are precious to the Lord, so much so that He was willing to give His life to set us free.  Right along with that, having set us free from the tormentor’s grip, it is God’s will that we be free from evil.  Therefore, being immersed in the evil world, we need to make some choices.  Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit on our side, moving believers to live for the Lord Jesus who gave us holiness through His sacrifice on the cross.

As we observe cultures in the world, we might ask how aliens live in the various places.  Do they try to blend in so well that they go unrecognized as aliens?  Is it possible this is what Peter meant?  Or, do they keep themselves so separate from the general populace that they can be completely ignored?  Well, it is obvious that neither of those would be what our Lord desires.  In fact, Jesus said, “Let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)  Likewise, here, Peter writes, “Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.”  In His high priestly prayer, Jesus describes those who follow Him; “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:16)

In Peter’s time, Christians were slandered, hated, persecuted, and condemned for refusing to honor the pagan gods or worship in emperor cults.  Therefore, the instruction given here by the Holy Spirit through Peter is that As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.  It is God’s will that sinners learn of His love and Jesus’ sacrifice to save sinners.  It is God’s will that we be in the world as His shining lights drawing others to His Light, which is Christ.

Consequently, if we live as the heathen and wicked do, they may welcome us with open arms, but it does absolutely nothing to lead them to Jesus.  And if we so immerse ourselves in wickedness that the wicked view us as one of them, when we try to lead them to the Good News, they will find us to be the hypocrites we would actually be.

Likewise, if we present ourselves as self-righteous judges looking for faults and sinners to condemn, we will receive only animosity at best.  Sometimes, it might feel like we are between a rock and a hard place.  Yet Peter confirms for us, there is a way.  Remember the story of the Good Samaritan, he didn’t ask whether the injured man was a fellow countryman, he simply stopped and gave his time and money to rescue the injured one.  We, of course, recognize that this represents Jesus who did everything to rescue us from the robber who injured our souls.  At the same time, it does show us that we can and should be concerned for the welfare of those around us, yet humbly and generously so.

Therefore, considering our text, we realize that we are to live in the world but as servants of the Lord who purchased us from the kidnapper, the old evil foe.  Christ Jesus has covered us with His righteousness, so we don’t serve Him to earn our place in His home.  Still, it is through our connection with Jesus that we live.  Therefore, when we live humbly according to the law and with concern for our fellow man and obedience to all our God has instructed us, even the wicked world begins to notice. 

Remember the great commission, “Gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  We draw others to ourselves through relationships made here on earth, but only with sharing the Word of our God through these relationships.  We likewise instruct in all things not only by telling but also in how we live.

Sometimes, we would like to have exact instructions in how to respond in every situation, but a lengthy list of commands will help us little.  Rather, the Lord says, “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.”  Remember, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)  Jesus, the King of all creation submitted Himself to every earthly authority as He lived for us on earth.  Therefore, as we live respecting the authorities God places over us while also obeying God’s law, what will be seen by the people around us is Jesus’ righteousness reflected in us.

Peter wrote, “Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.  Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.”  As redeemed Christians, we are free from the law, free from condemnation, free from terror of judgment.  But the sinners and unbelievers around us do not yet enjoy that freedom.  They need to see humble submission to God as a good thing.  Therefore, as we live in this broken world, we will live, not as rabble rousers, nor as terrorists seeking to destroy those we dislike, neither will we hide ourselves away, nor will we pretend to a self-righteousness that we have never possessed.  Instead, we are to live our lives in such a way that people see Jesus and His perfect love reflected in our love for others and our humility before authority while maintaining allegiance and obedience to God.

Dear friends, as I write this, and as I speak it to you this morning, it all sounds rather complicated.  Still, we can sum up the instructions with a few simple ideas.  We are to dwell in this world without participating in its evils.  We live here as ambassadors for Jesus who truly has paid the penalty of death for the whole world and who dearly desires that the whole world would believe in Him for forgiveness and salvation.  We will let our lights shine in the darkness, not as arrogant searchlights seeking evil, but beacons of hope pointing to Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. 

Then, having been set apart from the world by the life and faith worked in us by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, we will live for Jesus, for As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.  Amen.

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.  Amen.

She waited for the Lord, and He saved her.

 

Funeral sermon for Eunice Boerner, October 16, 2026

O Lord, we are gathered in sorrow, yet not as those who have no hope.  We thank You for all the blessings bestowed on our sister in faith now fallen asleep and for all the blessings given through her.  But most of all, we thank You for making her Your dear child by faith in Jesus Christ.  Give us to have that same trust in Jesus always.  We ask this all in His holy name.  Amen.

Dear friends in Christ: Curtis, Jill, Derek and Amy, Daniel and Michelle, relatives and friends: grace to you and abiding peace from the living God and His only-begotten Son who lived, died, and rose again for you and for all.  Amen.

For our words of comfort, we read of God’s love and plan to rescue His people:

Isaiah 25:6-9  ⁶On this mountain the Lord of Armies will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of aged wines, with the best cuts of meat, and with the finest wines.  ⁷On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples, the burial cloth stretched over all nations.  ⁸He has swallowed up death forever!  The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.  He will take away the shame of his people throughout the earth.  For the Lord has spoken.  ⁹On that day it will be said, “Look, here is our God!  We waited for him, and he saved us!  This is the Lord!  We waited for him.  Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation!” (EHV)

No one likes to be accused of sin, and especially on days like today, none of us like to have a loved one accused of sin, but here we are, staring death in the face, being reminded again that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  The curse of sin on the world forces each of us to face the reality that we deserve to die for our sins against God and against His righteousness.  Every death is a reminder of our own guilt.

My friends, I am not telling you this to shame your mother or grandmother.  Not at all, for she rightly, willingly, and often confessed her sins before God, right here in this church for many decades, and these last years whenever I met with her with the Word of our God and His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.  Eunice regularly confessed her sin.  To the outside world, I am sure those faults seemed minor, hardly worth mentioning, but she knew the holiness of God and that she didn’t measure up.  Yet, the point of our text today, and Eunice’s confession, likewise, is that our God has taken away her guilt, my guilt, and all of your guilt as well.

At the death of a faithful Christian, there is sorrow and pain among those left behind.  We mourn our loss just as anyone else might.  At the same time, we gather this afternoon to rejoice and to celebrate the life Eunice is now enjoying.  Our text gives us a picture of the glory of heaven she now enjoys, because She waited for the Lord, and He saved her.

A message came to the prophet Isaiah to declare to a people mourning the life and freedom they had lost on account of their rebellion against God, in other words, because of their sin.  He announced to the people, “On this mountain the Lord of Armies will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of aged wines, with the best cuts of meat, and with the finest wines.”  In our Gospel lesson a few moments ago, we heard Jesus tell His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s mansions.  Jesus was going to the cross to suffer death for the sins of the world on that mountain on which Jerusalem was built, just as Isaiah had prophesied. 

Several times in the Gospels of our Lord, heaven is pictured as a wedding feast.  Isaiah described it as the most magnificent banquet a great king could provide.  Through the life and death of Jesus Christ, the banquet of heaven is now prepared for all who will believe.  It is prepared for all people, for you and me, and for Eunice.  Have no doubt that she is enjoying that new life right now in the presence of her King, her God and Savior.  Now, Isaiah was painting a picture of the richest foods they knew.  I can’t help but imagine there were great, big tubs of ice cream just waiting for Eunice to enjoy.

Of course, I can’t say exactly what heaven will be like, but the pictures Scripture gives tell us that it will be marvelous and it will be forever.  Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  In this world, we have many troubles and eventually our bodies break down.  We have an unending list of sorrows and pains because of the curse of sin on the world.  However, for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior, those troubles are taken away forever as He welcomes us into heaven, where we will never again experience any suffering, sorrow, trouble, or pain. 

Therefore, I envision Eunice now walking, maybe dancing, enjoying the Paradise she now lives in, always singing praise to her Lord and Savior.  These are things she loved here.  In heaven, she is already enjoying the life that never ends, where the Lord promised, “God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

In our text, we have the work of Christ Jesus explicitly foretold: “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples, the burial cloth stretched over all nations.  He has swallowed up death forever! … He will take away the shame of his people throughout the earth.  For the Lord has spoken.”  This is God’s sworn testimony: On that mountain called Calvary, or Golgotha-the place of the skull, Jesus gave His holy, innocent in life in the place of all sinners ever.  The Son of God, who lived perfect obedience to His Father in heaven and to every law down to the very last dot and tittle, carried the sins of the whole world and suffered the death we all deserved.  Even the pains of hell, which is complete separation from God were laid on Jesus, God’s Son, as He testified by His exclamation, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

On that hill, Jesus took away “the shame of his people throughout the earth.”  There, “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Because of the life Jesus lived, and the death His suffered on our behalf, God has counted Eunice as perfectly holy and innocent of any accusation that could be lobbed against her, and in her baptism almost ninety-five years ago, God adopted her as His own beloved daughter, and through the portal of physical death, just like Jesus suffered, He has welcomed her into the everlasting home Jesus prepared for her.  Throughout her life here on earth, She waited for the Lord, and He saved her.

Remember the rest of the prophecy: “He will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples, the burial cloth stretched over all nations.  He has swallowed up death forever!  The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.”  Whenever we have to place a loved one’s remains in the ground, the reality of Christ’s victory over sin and death reminds us that this is not the end, because Jesus didn’t stay dead and buried in that tomb.  As we celebrate every Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death forever.  The wicked foe that thought he was killing God’s Son, was now crushed when the Son took up His life again.  On top of that, even, Jesus promises that we too will be raised.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus promised to return and take us to be with Him in the mansions of heaven.  In the epistle lesson, we are promised that nothing can separate God’s people from His love, and in the reading from Job, we are assured that we will see Jesus with our own eyes in the resurrection from the dead.  The Holy Spirit moved St. Paul to write, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.  For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)

Dear friends, today, as you mourn Eunice’s passing from this life, be comforted by these truths: she trusted in Jesus as her Savior and Redeemer, and for her faith in Jesus, God has counted her as His own dear child, has forgiven all her sins, dressed her in the perfect righteousness of Christ Jesus, and has taken her soul to dwell with the Lord in the glory and peace of heaven forevermore.  Then, on the day Jesus returns to judge the world, her body also will be raised from the dead, glorified in the perfection of her Savior, as the Scriptures promise.  Therefore, we will be able to see her again and to rejoice along with her for all eternity to come, for She waited for the Lord, and He saved her.  Amen.

The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.  Amen.